Popular Topics
Latest Dog Posts
- Finding Wildflowers
Steve has been checking out lots of wildflowers around and wanting to document them. Here’s some of his recent finds and sightings (including a couple of bonus monarch caterpillar pics he took that I hadn’t posted before). Some we’ve identified and some we have not. I’ll try to label them in the captions. Also a […] - Spring 2022 – Backyard updates
We holed up this winter and I never really put the cameras out. We were birdfeeding and watching and counting all winter, but we had a lot going on and I just didn’t have the desire to document things here. But, seasons change and spring is back and the winter doldrums are over. Tilda is […] - Winter Laziness
Wondering what we’ve been up to this winter? Basically this!
Birdwatching Updates
- Rose Breasted Grosbeak Mating Behavior Observed
I caught this weird Rose-Breasted Grosbeak interaction on camera a week or so ago, but had to have an opportunity to read about it in the Stokes Guide to Bird Behavior to be sure what I was seeing. This is a mating behavior that the Stokes guide calls: “Wing-Droop-Fluff”. It is described this way: “the […] - Male Baltimore Oriole Eats Caterpillar or Grub
I setup the GoPro in this landing area for the orioles and their fledglings. I was pleasantly surprised to capture this male oriole land with a green caterpillar or grub in its beak and proceed to gobble it up! Pretty cool to see! - Gray Catbird spends the summer!
This is our first year seeing a Gray Catbird around. Now that we are more familiar with them, we know we’ve heard them before, but we never saw one prior to this year. It’s been fun to have them around. They like the fruit and jelly we put out for the orioles and they also […]
The Toads of our Yard
- Tiny Toads Have Emerged!
Went outside to water the flowers tonight and feed the birds and found that we had been overrun by tiny toads! Saw over a dozen hopping about in the walkways and flower beds just in the areas I water. They were all about the same size, just about the size of the fingernail on my […] - A Couple of Toads holed up together
Well, after the rain happened and there was a little toad party out in the yard, the next morning we found these 2 cuddlebugs. We covered them with a leaf after we took the picture. - Evening toad huntMSU is having science fest this month and encouraging citizen science to count our populations of wildlife. It was warm & sunny today and this evening was a good rain. We heard a lot of spring peepers. We saw 5 toads and one tree frog and 2 nightcrawlers. No photos of the nightcrawlers or one […]
Stay Up to Date
Subscribe and Receive an email when new stories and pictures are posted.
Meet Our Pets
Matilda Wilma
Female Coonhound Mix
Adopted Date: 3/29/2017
We rescued Tilda as she is affectionately known in March of 2017. She was estimated to be a year old at the time. The beginning of her life was tied to a stake in Georgia until moving from shelter to shelter. She’s now got some titles, RATI and RATN and has become a confident, well behaved companion dog.
Duke
Male Basset Hound
Adopted Date: 1/08/2019
Birth Date: 7/11/2011
We initially fostered Duke through Basset Hound Rescue of Michigan in January of 2019. After a couple of weeks though, we knew he was our forever hound. He was surrendered by his owner. He & Tilda have gotten along well and he fits right in here. He loves squeaky toys, playing fetch and catching treats.
The Cat
Female Housecat
Rescued Date: June 2013
The cat doesn’t exactly have a name. We call her “Cat” or “Kitty”. At the vet she is known as June, that’s the month she showed up. She just appeared here one day in 2013 and I fed her a can of tuna and then she became my cat. That’s sort of how cats work. She’s a dog trainer. She’s trained all my hounds to get along with a cat.
Read all posts
In Memory
Remembering our hounds who are waiting for us at the rainbow bridge. Click their names to read all posts about them.
Our first basset hound, our weasel dog. Our first dog together, Steve’s first dog ever. Quincy was the life of this house and yard. She made us feel like a family. She made our house feel like a home. Cancer took her from us far too young. We miss her.
Mighty Quincy, Queen of the Ozarks
1/18/2008 – 2/9/2017Lovingly known as Mr. Chip, this goofy hound was meant to be ours. He suffered his first seizure at 6 months old. battled seizure disorder and later Cushing’s disease. He loved food, treats, and us. He knew he needed us and we needed him. He was a good boy.
